The Toy Dolls: On Stage in Stuttgart (1999)

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Well I had fun getting it ready, by any measure (visits, downloads, comments) I over-reached with this lengthy Toy Dolls series. It's no one's fault but mine for over-estimating the enthusiasm of MRML readers for the band, so I shall wrap it up resonantly quickly and harbour no regrets.

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This week MRML celebrates Sunderland, England's The Toy Dolls, a pop-punk-oi trio that have been rocking the world since 1979 under the leadership of singer/songwriter/guitarist/producer/cartoonist/sole original member Olga, by building a list:


 Ten Terrific Toy Dolls Traits:

6. The band's influence
The Toy Dolls influence will be felt around the world for years to come. Two aspects of their legacy bear highlighting here:

a. Fat Mike, a declared fan, surely took notes from the band's career trajectory. The Toy Dolls never attempted to follow fashion, as most of their punk peers did. Instead they decided to stick absolutely to their style of punk, even as their musical prowess grew, and to tour relentlessly. This was to prove the exact formula for the bands on Fat Mike's label, Fat Wreck-Chords, which is still going strong today.

b. The band seems to have had a strong influence on a lot of the mid-west punk bands of  the nineties. I hear it in Screeching Weasel's lyrics which detail, with humanity and humour, the lives of those around them in songs like "Jeannie's Got a Problem With Her Uterus", in the singing style of Joey from The Vindictives and in just about everything about the ever-mad, Boris The Sprinkler.





Track listing

    Dig That Groove Theme Tune 2:19
    The Lambrusco Kid 2:54
    Idle Gossip 2:12
    Back In '79 2:48
    She's A Leech 2:25
    I've Got Asthma 2:22
    Sabre Dance (Khachaturian) 2:45
    She'll Be Back With Keith Someday 3:43
    Fisticuffs In Frederick Street 4:02
    Bless You My Son 2:00
    My Girlfriends Dads A Vicar 1:08
    Yul Brynner Was A Skinhead 2:56
    Wakey Wakey Theme Tune 0:22
    Stay Mellow 2:04
    Eine Kleine Nacht Musik (Mozart) 4:21
    Fiery Jack 2:42
    Alecs Gone 3:21
    I'm Gonna Be 500 Miles 2:45
    She Goes To Finos 2:57
    Dig That Groove Baby 4:17
    Raiders Of The Lost Ark (Williams) 1:07
    Cloughy Is A Bootboy 2:40
    Glenda And The Test Tube Baby 4:57
    Dougy Giro 3:16
    Nellie The Elephant (Butler, Hart) 6:01


Oi, Toy Dolls fans!!!
What do you see as the band's greatest influence on music?
Do you think we over-did it on the Toy Dolls stuff?
Let us know COMMENTS section (which is where you'll find the On Stage in Stuttgart  link).

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The Toy Dolls: Live in Lyon, 1990 (FM Broadcast)

This week MRML celebrates Sunderland, England's The Toy Dolls, a pop-punk-oi trio that have been rocking the world since 1979 under the leadership of singer/songwriter/guitarist/producer/cartoonist/sole original member Olga, by building a list:


 Ten Terrific Toy Dolls Traits:

5. Olga's Guitar Wig-Outs

While he can peel off some some pretty classic glam-rockin' solos, Olga's guitars theatrics pinch from a dizzying array of forms - folk (the traditional "Jimmy Olga Crack Corn"), jazz (the standard "When the Saints Go Marching In"), rockabilly (Chuck Berry's "No Particular Place To Go"), bluegrass (Arthur "Guitar Boogie" Smith's "Dueling Banjos"), classical (J.S. Bach's "Toccata in D Minor") and country (The Charlie Daniels Band's "The Devil Went Down to Georgia Scunthorpe"). While some fans, possibly including yours truly, have groused about all that showy fret work, it has really helped build the band's very particular sound - so bully for Olga!

For further proof of Olga's guitar skullduggery,check out this rip-snortin' set done on French radio in 1990.


01- Intro
02- Dig that Groove
03- Cloughy is a Bootboy
04- Lambrusco kid
05- I've got Asthma
06- Peter Practise Pad
07- Deirdre's a Slag
08- Bless you my Son
09- My Girlfriends Dad's a Vicar
10- Ashbrooke Launderette
11- Spiders in the Dressing Room
12- Instrumental
13- She goes to Finos
14- Tommy Koweys car
15- Back in '79
16- Fisticuffs in Frederick street
17- Sabre Dance
18- Harry Cross
19-Glenda and the Test Tube Baby
20- Blue Suede shoes
21- When the Saints go Marching in
22-Nellie the elephant 






Oi, Toy Dolls fans!!!
Tell us what you think of all Olga's six-string showmanship in the COMMENTS section (which is where you'll find the Live in Lyon link).

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The Toy Dolls: Turtle Crazy 7" (1990)

This week MRML celebrates Sunderland, England's The Toy Dolls, a pop-punk-oi trio that have been rocking the world since 1979 under the leadership of singer/songwriter/guitarist/producer/cartoonist/sole original member Olga, by building a list:


 Ten Terrific Toy Dolls Traits:

4. Kid-Friendly

While they won't be getting their own show on TV like The Aquabats, their sugar-rush tempos, bratty-kid vocals and the goofy word-play in their lyrics (plus their predilection for performing kids songs like, "Nellie the Elephant"and "Rupert the Bear") make The Toy Dolls an easy sell to the ankle-biter set.

So, here's the single of another tot-friendly track, "Turtle Crazy", which is not a cover tune but an original about Olga's brother's obsession with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles which ably demonstrates The Toy Dolls' appeal to, as they themselves put it, "Babies and grand-dads and great-babies and great grand-dads!"


 

A		Turtle Crazy
B		Turtle Crazy (Join In Mix)

Oi, Toy Dolls fans!
Thanks for the words, yesterday!!
If you want the list (and the rarities) to continue tell us your own favourite things about the band in the COMMENTS section (which is where you'll find the Turtle Crazy 7"  link).

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The Toy Dolls: Twenty-Two Tunes from Tokyo (1990)

This week MRML celebrates Sunderland, England's The Toy Dolls, a pop-punk-oi trio that have been rocking the world since 1979 under the leadership of singer/songwriter/guitarist/producer/cartoonist/sole original member Olga, by building a list:


Ten Terrific Toy Dolls Traits:

3. International Appeal

The Toy Dolls are less likely to tour North America or even the UK then they are continental Europe, South America or Asia and hence they've spread their kind of musical madness over more of the planet than almost any punk band!





Twenty-Two Tunes from Tokyo is an out-of-print Receiver Records release that captures  the band's manic show at The Club Quattro, Tokyo, Japan on 27th December 1989 (from the Wakey, Wakey Tour).

Tracklist
1          Wakey Wakey Intro     1:46    
2          Dig That Groove Baby     2:34    
3          Cloughy Is A Bootboy     3:10    
4          Lambrusco Kid     2:53    
5          I've Got Asthma     2:11    
6          Peter Practices Practice Place     3:01    
7          Deidre's A Slag     3:22    
8          Ashbrooke Launderette     2:25    
9          Bless You My Son     2:05    
10         My Girlfriends Dad's A Vicar     1:18    
11         Spiders In The Dressing Room     2:56    
12         Popeye Medley     3:33    
13         She Goes To Finos     2:40    
14         Fisticuffs In Frederick Street     3:35    
15         Harry Cross     4:07    
16         Glenda & The Test Tube Baby     3:52    
17         Wakey Wakey Outro     1:53    
18         When The Saints     1:38    
19         Wipe Out     3:06    
20         Nellie The Elephant     3:38    
21         Sabre Dance     2:31    
22         Blue Suede Shoes     2:33    

Oi, Toy Dolls fans!!!
Been a bit quiet on the old COMMENT front, hasn't it?
If you want the list (and the rarities) to continue tell us your own favourite things about the band in the COMMENTS section (which is where you'll find the Twenty-Two Tunes from Tokyo link).

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The Toy Dolls: Live in Munich (1986)

This week MRML celebrates Sunderland, England's The Toy Dolls, a pop-punk-oi trio that have been rocking the world since 1979 under the leadership of singer/songwriter/guitarist/producer/cartoonist/sole original member Olga, by building a list:


 Ten Terrific Toy Dolls Traits:

 2. Olga's flair for lyrics that mine the humour and pathos of everyday British life.

Olga, acting as a sort of Ray Davies-meets-Benny-Hill-meets-the Ramones figure,  celebrates the ordinary people of his homeland in songs like "Carol Dodds is Pregnant", "Harry Cross (Edna's Gone)", "Davey's Took the Plunge" or even "The Death of Harry the Roofer with Vertigo".

For further proof of Olga's wicked eye for the ridiculous in his surroundings (and his ability to turn it all into one great big singalong) check out this set done live on German TV from the Idle Gossip era (1986).

01 Idle Gossip
02 The Lambrusco Kid
03 Spiders In The Dressing Room
04 (If You're In A Pop Group You'll End Up Paying A Fortune Practicing At) Peter Practice's Practice Place
05 Glenda And The Test Tube Baby
06 You Won't Be Merry On A North Sea Ferry
07 Blue Suede Shoes

Hallo, Toy Dolls fans!!!
If you want the list (and the rarities) to continue tell us your own thoughts on Olga's way with words in the COMMENTS section (which is where you'll find the Live in Munich link).

Support the band!

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